Minangkabau Women's Political Identity In Political Representation

This study examines Minangkabau women in politics. The political identity of women in Minangkabau as Bundo Kandung places women in a high position. Their role is centered on the mother in the Rumah Gadang, playing the role as urang rumah [person of the house], induak bareh [mother of the rice], and decision-maker. These barriers are more dominant and are culturally bound. They are associated with the stigma embedded in Minang men that they are reluctant to be led by women and put women to do domestic works and services (in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom). Even in the modern era, it can be seen that the power of Bundo Kandung as a symbol of women in Minangkabau, playing the role as the control of the Nagari [village] government, has been much reduced. The internal barriers emerge from the Minangkabau women's self-factors, which involve personal decisions. Thus, this study found that Minangkabau women feel they do not have the ability to get involved in politics as an additional duty to the dual role that they play: a mother and a wife. The barriers generating from the women’s self are very influential to the extent that such obstacles cause women to be less interested in politics and even reluctant to get themselves involved in the public sphere. As a result, they seem to demonstrate low fighting power.